San Diego is blessed to have many
practicing artists.
A good number of San Diego artists exhibit
in Balboa Park at Gallery 21 in Spanish Village and at the San Diego ArtInstitute on the Prado across from the San Diego Museum of Art’s Sculpture
Garden.
Retrospectives provide insight into an
artist’s interests, development and variety within a broad body of work.
Jeff Brosbe is presenting his
retrospective, Eclectic Eyes, at
Gallery 21 from August 14 to 26, 2013.
What: Eclectic
Eyes, a 20 year retrospective of
the fine art photography of Jeffrey R. Brosbe
Where: Gallery 21, Spanish Village in Balboa
Park
When: August 14 – 26, 2013 open daily from
10 am to 4 pm
Contact: 619-282-0577 (to call for an
appointment)
Artist
Reception: Friday, August 16, 2013 from 5 – 7 pm
Joe
Nalven: I am looking forward to your upcoming exhibit. How
would summarize your photographic interests?
Jeff
Brosbe: The body of work I will show will be eclectic and
reflect the themes I focus on. I am
still compulsively drawn to images that are social commentary or street
photography. As the light hits me and
the lines fix my attention, I also capture abstracts and even the occasional
portrait or flower. I still love to travel and do the majority of my photography
while traveling.
Jeff
Brosbe / Long Tunnel – No Light
talking with the subject to ascertain
if it was OK for me to take some pictures, I began to focus on the man alone
which presents a classical triangle composition. The contrast of geometric shapes: triangle,
square, and the circle of his hat led me to the larger picture and the social
irony within.
JN: Nearly
everyone takes photographs. If there is any object that has become part of
global culture, it is the camera. But fine art photography is more than just
the camera and its technology. What has
been your experience with the camera and getting involved with photography?
Jeff
Brosbe: A
camera has been a part of my life since my pre-teen years. At first my interest was exclusively with
family and friends, vacations and special events. Later, I became attracted to compositional
elements by the last years of high school.
Around that time I discovered some of the masters of the art such as Edward
Steichen, Paul Strand, Ansel Adams, and especially Robert Doisneau. His influence has been significant in my
development. And it would be criminal
not to mention Life magazine.
Jeff Brosbe / Bangkok
– April 2010
This Bangkok image illustrates my accomplishments as
an avid world traveler as well as demonstrating my continual battle with
titles. I have seen all three embalmed
Communist leaders: Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Ho Chi Minh. I have been tear gassed in three countries:
the USA, the Philippines, and Malaysia. More and more I resort to place and
date rather than an interpretive title.
More and
more I was taking pictures because of the shape and light that attracted me as
much as the subject matter. As this
progressed in my adult years more and more people wanted copies of my work and
urged me to show my images. Two decades
ago I admitted that since I could not live without photography, I should test
the waters and began to submit my work to competitions, public art associations
and galleries. I began to receive
recognition and praise. My first solo
show was sponsored by the city of Carlsbad, California in 1997.
JN: I am struck by your using travel as a way to
generate your photography.
JB: I have what some of my family referred to as a gypsy
spirit. I have always loved to travel
and experience new and different places.
This combined by the influence of Life
magazine’s photo essays and the work of Robert Doisneau has given much of my
work a photojournalistic bent.
JN: One can sense various thematic ways of
organizing your work.
JB: Most of my early serious work was travel
related. Even today I have a penchant
for street photography. But today I feel
that the major influence on my work is more about the composition, the light
and lines, than the subject matter. In
the early years this influence can be seen in floral and landscape work; and,
today it is most prominent in my abstract work.
I still am most productive when traveling, but my eyes are always open
for an image wherever and whenever I come upon it.
Jeff Brosbe / Lotus
#3
The oldest image presented here is part of a four image sequence, created in
China in 1993, which is illustrative of the Buddhist cycle of life. This image represents youth, with the
reminder of the life cycle represented by the seed pod of an expired bloom.
JN: Those in photography for the long haul have
had to confront digital capture,
processing and printing. What has been your experience with digital
technology?
JB: It was not an easy or eager transition. Not at all.
And, even now, my compositional approach has not been altered by the
possible wizardry of digital manipulation.
My images are still composed in the camera and with the subject matter
as it is at that moment. The technology
of the full frame camera I use now has made the quality of my final image as
sharp as if it were captured on film; and I have learned how to prepare a
digital file for the printer. Since I
tend to favor larger prints, I have always worked with a professional printer
who, in the printing aspect of creating an image, is an artist in his own
right. Today, I work with Jim Respess.
Jeff Brosbe / Dandelion
More and more of
the flora images I capture are presented in black and white. I feel it allows the viewer to fully
appreciate the physical composition without the distraction of color. This one was taken laying on a frosty turf in a valley in Kyrgyzstan
about 20 minutes before dawn. This image
also demonstrates my attraction to the imperfect.
JN: Despite what one might feel about being
unique as an artist, artists are embedded in relationships that may influence
their art or how they participate in art institutions. In what way have you intersected with other
artists in San Diego?
JB: I am a strong believer in associating with
other photographers on an artistic level.
Not only does one learn but also the feedback and comradeship is
invaluable. Locally I suggest two great
opportunities: SDAI's ArtGym and NCPS
(the North County Photographic Society).
Both hold regular photo shoots as well as other activities and present
excellent opportunities to meet and network with other photographers.
Jeff
Brosbe / Mela, Sonepur, India
This
image of late afternoon light took two days to capture. It was taken during the Mela and Animal Fair
in Sonepur, India. Hundreds of thousands
attend this annual event and many of them camp out with their families during
the three days of devotional activities.
While photographing this camping area, I noticed this location. But the first day did not produce an image
that celebrated the light properly. The
image was created on the second day.
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